A young Oklahoma City soccer player has been tapped to train with recruiters for the FC Barcelona team.

Frankie Salazar turned 9 years old on Thursday.

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As part of his present, his mother, Paola Lopez, gathered help from friends through a GoFundMe page to help pay for the FC Barcelona soccer camp in Oklahoma City last week.

The camp's prize was two trips for outstanding players to go to Spain to meet and train with the team.

“FCB is a big one, (one) of the most important clubs out there right now,” Lopez said. “Lionel Messi is the world’s best player at the moment, so everyone wants to be like him. Everyone wants to follow his footsteps. He’s really good at what he does,” she said.

Lopez prepared her son for a likely reality after the camp.

“If they don’t select you, don’t be sad. Don’t be discouraged. He said, ‘I’ll be okay.’”

Salazar was among 200 kids at the camp, and he knew there was a slim chance of winning.

“I thought only the other kids would get it because they were older. They had the advantage to win it because they were older and better,” Salazar said.

When the time came to announce the winners, Lopez said they weren’t prepared to hear his name called.

“My mom got tears of joy and I got tears of joy too,” Salazar said.

Lopez said her son, who is a straight-A student at Westwood Elementary School, was picked not only for his skills, but also for the leadership he displayed on the field.

“As a mom, to me he’s the best out there,” Lopez said.“But for other people to see and for other people to tell you he’s really good, it makes you want to break down and cry.”

Salazar will be headed to Spain next year. The details of the trip and how much it will cost his family are still unclear.